I Love Myself Today
by Calliope Hellice
Summary: This story stemmed from a character in a Smallville rpg at http://clubs.yahoo.com/SmallvilleChronicals...also able to be seen at http://www.thetownofsmallville.cjb.net


Morgan looked outside. It was her third shift, and it was a slow night. So she was left to close the store herself. Not too difficult. The Beanery was almost the same as the cafe she had worked in back home. She turned the radio up nearly full blast and got to work wiping down all the tables. Then HER song came on.  
  
The guitar was heavy, the bass beat steady.  
  
you left me like a broken doll  
in pieces as i took the fall  
for you-you dumb chump  
you left me free-falling like space junk  
burning up in the atmosphere of life  
  
Morgan began moving in time to the music. She smiled as she wiped the tables down, putting the chairs up on the tables.  
  
well i sound just like a philosopher  
but i'm a fool 'cause i'm a rocker  
'cause i let you in my heart one last time  
i've had enough, made up my mind  
i'm gonna get up and out and waaaaaaaaah!  
  
She began bouncing to the music, swinging her waistlength raven hair about her shoulders.  
  
i love myself today  
not like yesterday  
i'm cool i'm calm i'm gonna be okay, uh huh  
i love myself today  
not like yesterday  
take another look at me now  
cause it's your last look  
you last look forever!  
  
  
  
Lex walked into the cafe, and heard the loud music from the stereo.  
  
Someone has to be here, he thought to himself. Stupidly he had left his briefcase at the Beanery this afternoon. He walked quietly through the cafe, to the back of the large eatery. She was there. That raven-haired waitress. She was wearing a short black skirt and leather boots to her knees with chunky heels. Her shirt was fitted, a dark blue colour and velvety. She wore a black leather choker with "Goddess" embossed on it. She was dancing and singing along to the music.  
  
Lex stood back, watching the performance. He leaned against the doorway that led to front part of the cafe.  
  
well look at you, you're all puffed up  
in that big red truck, but you're outta luck  
this time--well that's tough  
'cause i'm on fire too hot to touch  
in a chatroom full of lovers on the line  
  
She spun around, eyes shut, belting out the words, but still unheard over the loud music. She continued dancing, her back still to Lex.  
  
gonna step right up, spit shine my soul  
i'm gonna be proud and loud and outta control!  
i love myself today  
not like yesterday  
i'm cool, i'm calm, i'm gonna be okay, uh huh  
i love myself today  
not like yesterday  
take another look at me now  
'cause it's your last look  
your last look forever!  
  
She looked like an alterna-goddess, a diva in her own right.   
  
She's beautiful when she doesn't know she's being watched, Lex thought,eyeing her more relaxed body movements. The stress was out of her face.  
  
  
  
Her favourite part was coming on, and Morgan really let loose, moving sexily across the floor towards the couch on the far wall.  
  
i'm looking in the mirror and i like what i see  
i've lost the fear and horror  
that's been eating at me  
'cause being with you was like a hangman's noose  
i was living my life in a dead man's shoes  
  
Morgan shook her head, messing her hair up with her hands, looking at the couch as if someone sat there. She pointed, staring down the non existent person.  
  
i've had enough, made up my mind  
i'm gonna get up and out and waaaaaah!  
  
She threw her hands in the air, dancing like a gypsy.  
  
i love myself today  
not like yesterday  
i'm cool, i'm calm, i'm gonna be okay, uh huh  
i love myself today   
not like yesterday  
take another look at me now  
  
Morgan knelt on the couch, picturing herself straddling her ex boyfriend, pulling his tie seductively.  
  
i love myself today  
not like yesterday  
  
Then she pointed, jumping up, standing with her legs spread apart.   
  
you're dead and gone, i'm gonna get my way  
i love myself today  
not like yesterday  
  
Morgan moved her hands down her sides,tracing her curves, smiling at the imaginary ex boyfriend.  
  
take another look at me now  
'cause it's your last look forever  
  
  
  
Lex grinned in amusement at her performance. The end of the song was coming,. so he moved to the radio to turn it off when it finished.  
  
  
  
i love myself today  
uh huh  
i love myself today  
ooooow  
i love myself today  
uh huh  
i love myself today  
owwww!  
  
Morgan ended her dancing with a satisfied cry that matched that of Bif's.Still smiling, she went back to cleaning the tables when the music turned off and she heard singular applause.  
  
Startled, she dropped her cloth, turning quickly to face the intruder.  
  
  
  
"What are you doing here?" the waitress practically yelled at him.  
  
"Why, enjoying your performance of course," he smiled at her, offering his hand. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Lex Luthor."  
  
She waved his hand away. "I know who you are," her tone was cold. "My aunt works for you."  
  
Lex raised an eyebrow, studying the girl. He didn't have anyone working for the fertilizer plant that looked like this. She was stunning. Pale skin, elfin features, full rosy lips, perfectly arched brows,. that shining black hair, voluptuous and petite at the same time. And her eyes....  
  
Her eyes, He realized in sudden surprise. Were a sparkling gray. Like stars. Like Jane Cromwell's.  
  
"You're Jane Cromwell's neice?" he asked incredulously.  
  
"Yes," she gave him a strange look. "How did you know?"  
  
Lex thought about hiding his surprise by making a smooth comment like "I made it my business to know about you", but words tripped over his tongue and turned into "It's your eyes."  
  
  
  
"My eyes?" Morgan's hand went up to touch the undereye self consciously.   
  
"They're the same sparkling gray colour," Lex told her,  
  
  
  
Lex wanted to crawl into a hole. What happened to the smooth talking Lex? The one who had most of Smallville's female population eating out of his hands. Of course he couldn't come up with something witty and sexy to say. "They're the same sparkling gray colour," he wanted to kick himself for sounding like a jackass.  
  
"What is it you want again?" she was looking at him with annoyance.  
  
Remember, Lex reminded himself. You caught her looking incredibly dorky. Then the other voice, the one that seemed to be doing the actual speaking, said: Not dorky. Brave, bold, sexy, making her look gorgeous and desirable.  
  
Shut up, Lex told the second voice.  
  
"Maybe a repeat performance?" he asked with his signature smirk.  
  
"Drop dead," She went to walk past him, but he grasped her arm,stopping her from going too far from him.  
  
:"How about your name then?" he said softly into her ear.  
  
  
  
Morgan suppressed a growl of indignation. "Why do you want to know?" she asked,moving as far away from Lex as his grip would allow.  
  
"So that I know who to ask for when I call your aunt's house to ask you out to dinner," he replied,his electric eyes meeting hers.  
  
"Really?" She was having trouble not falling into those eyes. Manipulative, she thought. Out loud she said,"How about I tell you my name and you don't call me?"  
  
Lex looked taken aback. A woman rejecting him? For shame! Morgan almost giggled at the though.  
  
  
  
He wanted to kiss her. This woman who shot down every line he could think of. Looked at him like he was no better than a beetle that may scuttle out from beneath a table in this cafe. But he wanted nothing more than to touch her soft skin, inhale her scent, and taste her lips.  
  
"How about you give me the briefcase I left here this afternoon, so I can go?" he asked,instead of saying-or doing-what he was thinking. He had seen this woman twice before. After seeing her relaxed and unstressed while dancing, her uptight attitude was foreign, albeit familiar in that it seemed to be her usual state. He wished he could see the free spirit again.  
  
"Of course," she went behind the coffee bar while he walked to the front of the cafe, wandering over to the fireplace.  
  
  
  
Morgan went behind the bar, looking for the briefcase she had spotted earlier. A brass plate was screwed in near the handle with the initals AJL engraved on it. She took an order slip off the pad, jotting her name down on it quickly. She opened the briefcase and stuck it in before she had second thoughts.  
  
Standing, she smoothed her skirt over her thighs, and walked over to Lex. She handed him the briefcase.  
  
"I suppose you still aren't going to tell me your name," he said.  
  
Morgan's only response was a cold smile. "Good night, Lex,": she told him, leading him out the door. She shut and locked it behind him, and leaned against the cool glass.  
  
Her heart raced, and she wondered if she should have left the note with her name on it.  
  
Yes, I should have, she thought, then returned to the cleaning while singing under her breath.  
  
i love myself today   
not like yesterday  
i'm cool, i'm calm, i'm gonna be okay, uh huh. 


End file.
